September 22, 2026 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3761

Toughie No 3761 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird

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BD Rating – Difficulty  */**   –  Enjoyment *****

A perfectly-pitched and excellent puzzle to start the Toughie Week, very much in harmony with the Wirral’s clear blue skies and just a hint of early-morning crispness this morning.  One new word for me, and a few where it took me a little bit of thinking to separate the crossword clue from the ultra-smooth surfaces, so I’ve upgraded the difficulty rating half a notch. No issues with the enjoyment, though; a delight from start to finish.  Too many top-notch clues to list, and even choosing a favourite is impossible, so I’m giving out four prizes to the perimeter clues.

Thanks, Hudson, for a cracker of a puzzle!    

Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle. 

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DT 31351

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31351

Hints and tips by Huntsman

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BD Rating – Difficulty *  Enjoyment ***

Another lovely day here in Harpenden but a whole lot of domestic chores to attend to so golf will have to wait until tomorrow.

Today’s dose of Plumbing is maybe a tad easier than yesterday’s puzzle. That said the grid fill took me a tad longer than usual but I suspect that was because I was more woolly headed than usual first thing this morning. I did enjoy the solve but maybe not as much as the last couple of weeks & there did seem to be a preponderance of first letter deletions. As ever it will be interesting to see what others make of it.

Hudson is on duty over in t’other place & if the form book is anything to go by his Tuesday Toughie is guaranteed to be an accessible delight. Whybird is on hand with hints & more tunes.

As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.

In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.

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